Task 6, Historical, cultural and philosophical approaches to massage

Task 6
Historical, cultural and philosophical approaches to massage

Through out this blog I will be discussing the comparison between eastern and western massage and how it has developed, the roles that certain people have had with the development of massage, the comparison of maori massage, the scandals that happened in the 1800’s, the development of professional massage in New Zealand, contemporary massage and how body, body-mind and body-mind-sprit relate to the historical and cultural context of the whole overall blog.


A comparison of the development of massage in the eastern and western tradition
Western massage is what we are learning; “it consist of Swedish, Deep Tissue, and Soft Tissue. These use stroking and kneading the skin and muscles for relaxation and pain relief” (Eastern and western views). Eastern massages include TuiNa , Shiatsu, Thai massage, and JinShinDo. The strokes used is “pressing of specific acupressure points, striking the body with the sides of the hands or with cupped palms, rocking the body, rolling the backs of the hands along the body, and many more varieties and sometimes quite vigorous” (Eastern and western views). How these two have developed is that western massage use to be for the wealthy and it was not in till the mid 20th century that eastern massages come into the picture and changed that all around. Eastern massage is becoming more popular every year as people are willing to give it ago to try and fix their problems (History of massage). Whether you use western or eastern massage they are both going to help, it just all depends what works better for that person.

The role of Hippocrates, Galen, Ling, Metzger, Kellogg, Vodder, Travell and Cyriax in the development of massage in the western tradition
The Greek physician, Hippocrates (460 to 377 B.C.) is known as the father of medicine. He changed the face of healthcare and paved the way to the scientific study of medicine (Hippocrates and Massage History). He stressed that massage needs to go towards the core or heart of the body. His technique changed they way massage had been practiced for many centuries.
Galen, “he wrote several medical and philosophical volumes and is considered one of the greatest medical historians and physicians of antiquity” (A Brief History of Massage). Galen was also first to relate massage with anatomy and physiology allowing better understanding of how the body moves and acts.
Massage went through a dark stage and it was not until Pehr Heinrick Ling come forward with his work done on gymnast that lead to the research done on soft tissue massage which is now Swedish massage. He is known as the “father of modern massage” (A Brief History of Massage).
Metzger, is a dutch woman who introduced the French terminology into massage, examples, effleurage, petrissage and tapotment (Salvo, pg 858). She also made massage part of physical treatment and rehabilitation.
Kellogg, was an American who wrote articles and books they related to the health concern of massage, he brought the issue to the general public (Salvo, pg 856).
Dr Vodder is the guy that developd Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD) in the 1930’s, he was a Danish physiotherapist. Manual Lymphatic Drainage affects the nervous system; smooth muscle; it may have an effect on your immune system, although not proven (Manual lymph drainage).
“Dr. Janet Travell, the first woman ever to serve as White House Physician, takes a large portion of the credit for Trigger Point Therapy, the technique that helped JFK's back” (The Technique That Helped JFK's Back).

A comparison of maori massage (Mirimiri and Romiromi) with western massage
Traditional Maori Mirimiri Massage is a form remedial massage and stretching ideal for common backaches and strains, headache, stiff neck and shoulders.
Traditional Maori Romiromi is Massage Recommended for those looking for a more intense massage this treatment uses traditional Maori tools like ‘k- ohatu’ (stone) and ‘r- akau’ (stick) (Traditional treatments). Where traditional massage is often associated with shamanism, Holistic, Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual and incorporates remedies, manipulations, energy work and calling on spirits (D, McQuillan). The link with these types of massage is that they work with the bodies mind and sprit, allowing similar aspect to happen as a traditional massage or vise versa.

The massage scandals of the 1800s and their impact on the massage industry
“Near the turn of century in England, an arm of the British Medical Association uncovered incompetent massage techniques due to a poor system of education in the craft. In the worst case, they uncovered houses of prostitution--the birth of the massage parlor” (History of massage). After this all become public it did not help the massage industry. In 1943 the American Association of Masseurs and Masseuses was formed and is now the largest professional association for Massage professionals in the world. Also in this time there was a society of trained masseuses established. It required you to have academic pre-requisites for study. Training was done a school that was regularly checked, teacher had to be qualified and there were written and clinical examinations (D, McQuillan).

The development of professional massage in New Zealand including MINZI, NZA TEP, TMA and MNZ
The formation of MINZI was in 1985, by a guy named Bill Wareham. He called a meeting for all massage therapists in Auckland area and that is when they came up with the Massage Institute of New Zealand. Their focus was
Education of massage therapists
Standards of massage teachers
Annual conferences for skill development
(A history of massage in New Zealand)
The formation of NZATMP was in 1989 by Jim Sanford, as he saw a need for a professional association for therapeutic massage practitioners in New Zealand along the same lines as the physiotherapy board. From that the New Zealand Association of Therapeutic Massage Practitioners was formed. Their focus was
Educational standards
Promotion of a professional image within the massage industry
Dissemination of information
Increasing public recognition of massage
(A history of massage in New Zealand)
In the late 1990’s they changed the name to Therapeutic Massage Association (TMA). They had now been absorbed into NZQA’s massage unit standards and also moved away form the focus on educational development and are now focusing on
Supporting and representing the needs of the qualified therapist
Being a voice for the massage industry
Then in 2007 TMA & MINZI merged to become Massage New Zealand (MNZ). They have had their ups and downs but are on the right track now and it is said that massage is growing every year.

Contemporary massage
Contemporary Western massage, includes neuromuscular massage which is deep finger pressure applied to “trigger points” which acts on the interaction between nerves and muscles. Deep tissue massage is slow, deep strokes to release chronic muscle tension. Sports massage uses massage to prevent sports injuries and treat sprains and strains, and manual lymph drainage is used to stimulate the flow of lymph fluid (Contemporary Western massage).

A discussion of how the following philosophical approaches to massage (body, body-mind, body-mind-spirit) related to the historical and cultural context discussed
Body, in a massage content this is where treatment is focused on the body and on the affect of massage within the body and looking at how we can change the physiological affect of the body (D, McQuillan). How this relates to the historical and cultural is that I believe that it is what we do in the western type massage with deep tissue, sport massage and even relaxation, because through out these types of massage we are changing their body as we treat them.
Body-mind, “any therapy emphasizing the effects of consciousness solely within the individual body” (Dossey, 2000). How we think affects the way our body acts. This affects not only the therapist but also the client. How you come across when you first introduce your self to a client that you have never meet before and how your room is set out all plays a part in their expectation of you as a therapist. These aspects will not only show in body language but in the out come of the therapy given. This is related to historical and cultural mostly through the development of massage as I believe people are getting more judge-mental and to become a successful therapist you need your clients to trust you in what you are doing and have a welcoming environment allowing them to feel comfortable.
Body-mind-sprit, this is where the therapist intends on helping the client through feeling and touch. This approach is more like the eastern type massage where they use a lot of spiritual work on clients, through energy and enabling them to find them selves through out the treatment that is taking place. The mind is the director of this approach.

Over all I believe that to become a good therapist you need to do all of the above to ensure that your client is satisfied with the treatment given and they will return to you in the near future. Relating back to some of the things said in the other bullet points I am a firm believer that massage is taking off and it is still growing. Massage is something that majority of the population likes getting and that is what’s going to help massage become more acceptable among the public. History is some thing you can’t change so the things that happen back then I think are not going to have affect on massage in the coming future. It is what we do in our clinics and business that is going to help us become a successful therapist.


Class notes. (2009). Fundamentals of massage. Retrieved May, 21st, 2009, From David McQuillan class lecturer.

East and west healing arts institute, Inc. (2008). Eastern and western views. Retrieved 30th May 2009 from http://www.acupressureschool.com/east_or_west.html

East and west healing arts institute, Inc. (2008). History of massage. Retrieved 30th May 2009 from http://www.acupressureschool.com/massage_history.html

Suite 101. (2006). Hippocrates and Massage History. Retrieved 30th May 2009, from http://massagetherapy.suite101.com/article.cfm/hippocrates_and_massage

Integrative Touch and Bodywork. (2005). A Brief History of Massage. Retrieved 30th May 2009, from http://itandb.com/history.htm

Suite 101. (2006). Manual lymph drainage. Retrieved 30th May 2009, from http://massagetherapy.suite101.com/article.cfm/manual_lymph_drainage_

Trigger Point Therapy. The Technique That Helped JFK's Back. retrieved 30th May 2009, from http://www.painschool.com/jfk.html
Le Spa. Traditional treatments. Retrieved 1st June 2009, from http://www.lespaqueenstown.com/spamenu.pdf

Contemporary Massage and Wellness Center. (2008). History of massage. Retrieved 1st June 2009, from http://www.contemporarymassage.com/history.htm

Wiki educator. (2008). A history of massage in New Zealand. Retrieved 1st June 2009, from http://www.wikieducator.org/A_History_of_Massage_in_New_Zealand

Natural health New Zealand. (2005). Contemporary Western massage. Retrieved 1st June 2009, from http://www.naturalhealthnz.net/therapies/massage-therapy.html

Task 5, Sustainable Massage Practice

Task 5, Sustainable Massage Practice

Through out this blog I am seeing the relationships between massage practice and principles of environmental, social and economic sustainability and will be outlining at least three ways in which I could make my practice more sustainable.

Environmental
With New Zealanders trying to clean up their act by saving power and looking after our environment, I guess we should help by making our clinics and equipment as environmentally friendly as we can. Things that will help, is making sure we are efficiently heating the clinic with out losing the heat generated. “Heat pump systems are commonly 300% efficient, meaning for every 1kWh of electricity they consume, they generate 3kWh of heat (Air source heat pumps). This shows that using a heat pump will befit the business, because of their conversion efficiency.
Lighting is another cost, as you don’t want to work in a dark environment but you don’t want too much light. So having a couple of lamps with energy efficient lights in them with help save power and in the long run help with the sustainability of the environment. Energy efficient lights “save up to 80% of the electricity an incandescent bulb would use” (Energy Efficient Lighting, 2003).
With washing our linen we should uses a nature friendly washing powder that is less harmful on the environment and should hang them out to dry as using the dryer is using power and we are trying to be energy efficient to save the environment for the next generation.

Social
Things that will make a clinic more sustainable would be having interaction with the community, different types of religions and cultures. By having an understanding of these social interactions it will help with recognition of the clinic through the communities eyes. By this I mean if they see us out and about helping or working our name is out there for them to see and it is also another way of advertising without any extra cost.
Work done in the clinic that is related to social sustainability will be how we help our clients; this might be by distressing them or releasing pain. By giving our clients relaxation and achieving their goals their social interaction with friend and family will be improved and will reflect back on your work.
A way to make it easier to understand different cultures or religions will be working from a clinic as you will have to deal with lots of different people. This will help to learn about different types of beliefs and what is right and wrong. By having this understanding will show the client that you have an interest and you do not judge who they are, because of their cultural or religions.

Economic
To be able to run a business that is successful you have to know what target audience you want to aim at. Having the right people coming into your clinic is going to help with sustaining the profit of you business. At the moment with people trying to save money where they can this is very important as you want to be able to cover your cost for running the clinic, other wise you won’t have a clinic to run.
As we know massage is growing every year, there is no shortage of a massage therapist through out New Zealand and even on the world scale it’s growing. So to be able to sustain a business in this fast growing industry we need to know the pros and cons to running a successful clinic. I think we need to put these three things, environment, social and economics together to produce a massage practice that is sustainable to run and will work for employers and clients.

The three things that I will like to try and use in my massage practice to make it more sustainable will be making it more heat efficient as this is import as I want my clients to be warm and comfortable as possible and I don’t want to be paying heaps in power to heat my room.
Having knowledge of my clients cultural and religious beliefs I think will help me run a successful clinic as I will not only show them that I take and interest in their life but I might be able to help their social life by making them a happier human being and allowing them to communicate with people that they might not have been able to before.
Making sure that my clinic focuses on the right target audience I think is a major aspect of sustaining a massage practice. You want the right type of people to be walking through your doors and you want to make sure you can achieve their goals that they have come in for as that is how you build a good client base with the right people.


1) Right House. Air source heat pumps. Retrieved May, 21st 2009, From http://www.righthouse.co.nz/products/heating/heat-pump
2) Aurora, 2003. Energy Efficient Lighting. Retrieved May, 21st 2009, From http://www.electricity.co.nz/lighting.htm
3) Class notes. (2009). Fundamentals of massage, Sustainability. Retrieved May, 21st, 2009, From David McQuillan class lecturer.

The Ethics of Professional Practice

Client-centered care
It is all about the clients, they are the ones that bring in the money to your business so you have to make sure that they are well looked after and are happy with your services because you want them to return. It is the little things that matter like being polite and welcoming and showing respect when consulting them at the start, to find out their goals for the session. If they are religions or have beliefs then respect that. The main focus for client care is to make sure the client feels comfortable in the environment.

Informed consent
This is the information that we get the client to fill out and sign before the treatment. So we have an understanding of their medical history and it is also to cover our selves if something goes wrong. The information on the forms has contact numbers and will also show me if there is a high risk of anything happening or places I should be aware of during the treatment. Also in this part of the professional practice we will inform the client about clinical procedures, payment terms, and if they need to be referred to another clinic, what procedures are in place for the transfer. Then an explanation of our records and assessment are given, the security of their information and the after affects that may occur after the massage (McQuillan, D, 2009). After all of this the client or the therapist has the right of refusal if they do not feel safe or do not want to risk injury.

Scope of practices
“Scope of Practice” is a terminology used by state licensing boards for various professions that defines the procedures, actions, and processes that are permitted for the licensed individual” (Scope of practices,2009). This means to run an ethical profession you have to be a licensed massage therapist and have knowledge in what type of massage you are doing on your clients. If you are just a relaxation massage practitioner then you stick to soft tissue and stress release and pleasure (notes). If a fully trained massage therapist you can do relaxation and pain relief and injury management (McQuillan, D, 2009). In your clinic you should show some where what you’re qualified to do and ensure the client that what you are doing is under the New Zealand massage code of ethics (McQuillan, D, 2009). If you do not have the qualification to do a type of massage you may harm or injure your clients and you will not last long as a massage therapist as OSH will be making a visit to your massage practice.

Confidentiality
“The ethical principle of confidentiality requires that information shared by the client with the therapist in the course of treatment is not shared with others” (Confidentiality, 2009). This is important among client and therapist because it builds trust and they will return. The only time that a clients information can be given to another medical profession is when you have written consent from the client them selves stating that they give permission to give that medical profession their information. With keeping this information safe and away form other people is a filing cabinet that has a lock on it. If it is saved on computer make sure I have a password to lock the computer and keep others out from seeing it. When in public a therapist should not greet client unless client greets them first (McQuillan, D, 2009).

Boundaries
This is a big thing in the profession of massage as the client has faith in you as they are lying on the table with very little clothes on. When learning massage strokes you learn the ethics of what parts of the body you are allowed to massage and where to stay away form. Draping, if done correctly all out of bounded areas should not be exposed allowing the client to feel comfortable. Boundaries with the client is keeping your emotional distance and clarifying your role, responsibilities, expectation and limitations to ensure your safety as well.

Power differentials
“In theory and ethical practice, the power differential exists for the purpose of bringing benefit to these more vulnerable individuals” (Power differentials, 2009). Power differentials is where once the client is in your room you make them feel that you have control of what you are about to do, giving them confidence as they are laying there with very little clothes on. Same again if draping is done correctly patient should feel comfortable.

Relationships
In the ethics of the massage practices we must keep our boundaries between client and therapist and try not to get involved in a relationship. If you do start to have a relationship with a client we need to make sure you refer them on and stop their treatment straight away. The relationship that we want to make with our clients is trust and making sure they are happy with the treatment we are giving them. We want them to return.

Transference
Signs of transference are clients who start to rely on you, not only as their therapist. They become your friend as they began to gain your trust and this my lead to things such as them asking questions about your personal life, asking for advice about their personal life, bringing you gifts and ringing you after hours (Salvo, 2007). Those are just a few but they are what we as therapists need to look out for to ensure we do not cross any boundary.

Counter-transference
These are the issues that we bring into the clinic from our personal life. This is where a councilor is good as they are the person you can let out all your feelings to whether they are personal or work related. Signs we need to look for are becoming depressed if clients can not make it, getting argumentative with a client, making excuses for inappropriate behaviour (Salvo, 2007). Those are just a few but counter-transference is something we as therapist do not want to get our selves into as it could jeopardize our career and future in the massage industry.








Wikipedia. (20, Feb, 2009). Scope of Practice. Retrieved May, 11th, 2009, From, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scope_of_practice

Wikipedis. (3, May, 2009). Confidentiality. Retrieved May, 11th, 2009, From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confidentiality

Massage today. (2009). Power Differential. Retrieved May 11th, 2009, From http://www.massagetoday.com/mpacms/mt/article.php?id=10872

Class notes. (2009). Fundamentals of massage, ethics. Retrieved May, 11th, 2009, From David McQuillan class lecturer.

Salvo, S. (2007).Massage therapy. Principles and practice (3rd ed.). Missouri: Saunders.

the effects of massage strokes

The effects of massage strokes

The effects of massage on the autonomic nervous system
The definition of the autonomic nervous system is the “division of the peripheral nervous system supplying impulses to smooth muscle, cardiac muscle and glands” (Salvo, 2007). The autonomic nervous system is split into two types of nervous systems, the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems.
The Parasympathetic nervous system is referred to as the “house- keeping system” (Salvo, 2007). This is because it is the one that is in charge of the “head and trunk of the body (Noonan, 2006). So when the body is massaged with a slow stroke the body becomes relaxed and the bodies’ parasympathetic nervous system goes to work and repairs what is needed to be repaired through out the body.
The sympathetic nervous system is referred to as the “fight or flight system” (Salvo, 2007). “Activation of this system is the bodies’ way of dealing with stress real or perceived and will increase heart rate, blood is diverted to muscles, peristalsis is decreased, and adrenaline and epinephrine are secreted into the blood stream. The sweat glands are activated and the bodies alert level is heightened” (effects of massage on Autonomic Nervous System, 2008). So if someone comes in really stressed out and is just having a bad day or has never had a massage before, their body will be using the sympathetic nervous system. But once relaxed the body changes over to parasympathetic nervous system which is what we want when we are massaging.


The effects of massage strokes
The massage strokes that we have learnt in our basic massage class are effleurage. This is used to warm up the area that the therapist is going to massage. Petrissage which is a technique that uses moves such as cross-over, ringing, kneading and tapotement, which is a technique that uses moves such as chopping, pounding and cupping and touching and holding. The difference between these strokes is when we use then and what part of the body we use them on.

Touching and holding is the way we communicate with the body, this gives the clients body time to relax and enhances security for them. With touch we learnt what part of your hands we should be using, whether it is the thumb, palm, heal or fingers they all feel very different and that is why we use them all.
Effleurage is like the mother of the Swedish massage stroke it is used to say hello to the body and get the blood moving around the body part that is being massaged and then it is also used to finish off and say good by to that body part. After we have warmed up that body part we then move to a deeper massage stroke,
“Petrissage, which is probably the most valuable massage strokes. It encourages waste products to leave muscles and aids the circulation through the veins back to the heart” (Basic massage techniques, 2003). Petrissage is where we can get specific in massaging certain muscles in the area that we are focusing on.
Then after we have finished our time on that body part we finish of with effleurage, going back to a superficial stroke. If our client is going back to work or we just want to get the body going again we use a stroke called tapotement it is a quick movement which stimulates the muscle and gets it going again and out of relaxation mode.

A fast compression will stimulate muscle and increase the tension and a slower compression has a more relaxing effect. It is a technique that is good for stress release of the body.
Vibration is a movements performed with fingers tips or hands. The movement includes shaking, quivering, trembling or rocking. It can also be quite relaxing for the client.

Other effects of massage
Blood flow is one of the important aspects when it comes to a massage. This is because, “When a muscle is at rest it receives a small but constant blood supply so when the muscle is massaged the blood flow increases” (The benefits of massage). After the massage “The oxygen capacity of the blood can increase 10-15%” (Massage and Health, 2007). This is showing that if you have any problems with your body one of the best things to get rid of the problem is a massage.
“Lymph flow can be directly stimulated by the action of manual lymph drainage (Vodder Technique)” (The benefits of massage). “Lymph is a milky white fluid that drains impurities and waste away from the tissue cells and a component of these wastes is toxins which are the by-products of metabolism. So, it is a vital to our health” (Massage and Health, 2007). Not only is a good massage going to help move lymph but exercise, which involves muscular contraction the pumping effect moves the lymph (Massage and Health, 2007)
Muscle tension is normally the reason that people go to get a massage, so the effect that a massage has on a client with muscle tension is that “it loosens contracted, shortened, hardened muscles and stimulate weak, flaccid muscles” (Massage and Health, 2007) and gets the blood flowing and movement back in the muscle.
Connective tissue is a “tissue that makes up most of the body and helps transport nutrients, defends the body against disease, assists in blood clotting, and acts as a supportive framework” (salvo, 2007), so with a massage and getting movement across the skin we are helping the connective tissue transport the goods and fight the bad things of the body.
Digestion has an effect on the body, because when the body is massaged you relax and it increases the chance of you needing to go toilet. “It increases the production of gastric juices, saliva, and urine. There is also an increased excretion of nitrogen, inorganic phosphorus, and salt” (Massage and Health, 2007). This is not a bad thing as when you go toilet after a massage you are getting rid of all the bad toxins in your body.
High blood pressure and a massage go well together it is recommended that it decreases your blood pressure and helps you lead a healthy life style (salvo, 2007). After the massage it is said that your blood pressure is decreased for about 40 minutes (Effects and Benefits of Massage, 2009)
“Massage relieve acute and chronic pain. Massages can promote recovery from fatigue and from minor aches and pains” (Massage and Health, 2007). This is also good when it comes to sleeping pattern. As after a massage a substance called somatostatin is normally released and without this you my experience pain when sleeping.
Massage is said to improve your mood. “The mental health status and mood is improved after massage” (salvo, 2007)

Sleep and massage work well it “causes a decrease in delta brain waves, which are linked to sleep and relaxation” (Salvo, 2007). With this effect some clients may find it occurs but others might not.
When massaged your concentration “encourages faster and more elaborate development of the hippocampal region of the brain; this is related to increased memory performance” (Salvo, 2007)
“Massage increases the available levels of two brain chemicals as well as other neurohormones that support satiety. Research indicates that massage increases the availability of all neurohormones affecting brain chemistry, providing the recipient of the massage with a sense of well being” (Dickey). This effect gives the client that feel good feeling. Bonding is the effect we get between the client and the therapist. The feeling of trust that the client is giving the therapist the right to touch their body.






Salvo, S. (2007).Massage therapy. Principles and practice (3rd ed.). Missouri: Saunders.

Noonan, T. (2006). Autonomic Nervous system. Retrieved March 23,2009, from http://www.timnoonan.com.au/maspap98.htm

Basic massage technique. (2003). 3.Petrissage - Kneading, Pulling and Wringing. Retrieved March 23, 2009, from http://www.rigbys.demon.co.uk/masstech.htm

Daytona Massage New Age Touch. (2008). Effects of Massage on Autonomic Nervous System. Retrieved March 23,2009, from http://www.newagetouch.com/blog/2008/08/26/effects-of-massage-on-autonomic-nervous-system/

The benefits of massage. The benefits of massage. Retrieved March 24, 2009, from http://www.eumundimassage.com/massage%20therapies.htm

Massage therapy. (2007). Massage and health. Retrieved March 24, 2009, from http://www.holisticonline.com/Massage/mas_and-health.htm

Study stack. (2009). Effects and benefits of massage. Retrieve march 24th, 2009 from http://www.studystack.com/studytable-7027

Professional Massotherapy Inc. The physiological mystery of massage. Retrieve april 14th, 2009 from http://www.ldpmt.com/My_Homepage_Files/Page10.html

the story of stuff

I am not to sure what to write about as i do belive what she is saying may be happing but because we are suce a small country and belive we are a clean green county we dont see all this or not want to think of our selves as a dirty country. we have to remember we are always a few steps behind the bigger nations and even though it is not much of an issue yet, maybe we can learn from them and stat to take action now, so we dont end up like the rest of the world.

Melissa

Melissa Watkins

Hi my name is Melissa Watkins (Nickname: Missy)

I have been brought up in the sunny Bay Of Plenty, in a town called Whakatane. This is were i go when i am not living in dunedin. I have now been down in dunedin for 3 years and living at 104A Forth St this year with 4 other girls.

The one thing i enjoy doing is playing hockey and have been playing that for 12 years. I also enjoy all types of sports and socialising with friends and having a good time.

What interested me to do massage, is that i enjoy sports and i would also love to do sports massage when i graduate.